Chapter V Dark. Where am I? He -- at least he assumed it was "he" -- had just opened his eyes, to the sight of nothing but endless black. Turning his head, the darkness continued. That was one question solved. He was somewhere that was very dark. Who am I? Based on his previous assumption, he was male. That was, unfortunately, about all he knew on the issue. He didn't remember _anything_ at all; his memory was darker than his surroundings. Let's try another one: Why am I here? He decided to skip that one. He didn't have a clue. He couldn't even remember who "I" was; there was no way that he would remember anything about how he'd gotten to this endlessly dark place, this...oddly cold endlessly dark place. Am I dead? He didn't _think_ he was dead; he moved his fingers and toes, legs and feet, and yes, he could feel himself. He felt his body to make sure that there was nothing missing; interesting. He was naked. At least he had confirmed that he really was male. Assuming I'm _not_ dead -- where am I? A thought hit him like a load of bricks: he was in a coffin, buries alive. His first reaction to the thought was, of course, shock. Buried alive? Oh shit. "Oh shit..." Yep. He wasn't dead. He still had a voice. And he heard another one, too. "Excuse me?" He nearly jumped out of his skin. He had just heard another voice come from everywhere, but he was alone. There was but one reaction to it. He fainted. -- Dark. Where am I? Wait. He'd done this before. He wasn't going to get out of this if he kept going in circles. He was male, he was in something like a casket, he apparently had plenty of air, and he probably wasn't dead. And he wasn't alone. He decided to figure out what was in here with him. "H-hello?" The voice came again. It was a sultry voice, but certainly one from a computer -- he thought. He didn't know for sure. "Yes, si...uh, Storm. What can I do for you?" "Computer, open my casket. Now." The words exited his mouth before he could think, but he was fairly certain he wasn't wrong in any way... "Mr...uh...Storm, what are you talking about?" The voice was definitely confused sounding...and computers didn't get confused. Oh shit. This was no computer, and he'd just been rude to the one person that could let him out and help him figure out just what the hell was going on. "Uh...excuse me. I guess I'm just tired. Please open up the casket..." "Mr...Storm, I can't do that. You need to put in your code first." This time, the voice sounded a little less worrysome, a little more...commanding. But he still didn't know what she was talking about. "Code? What the..." (can't offend her again) "...heck are you talking about?" The voice coughed. "Oh my God. You don't remember your code. Dammit! I can't get you out of here..." Then it stopped. And stayed stopped. It gave him -- Smith? -- time to think. This person, who he'd once thought was a computer, apparently knew who he was, and was trying to help him. She also was quite possibly getting a bit pissed at him for treating her like a computer and generally not having a clue about what was going on. She also apparently needed him to put in a code of some sort. A code? What kind of code? Where did he put it in? Did he give it to her? What? A small green light suddenly flashed into existance. Its light blinded him, though it was certainly very dim -- this was the only light he'd seen for hours, at least. He gradually got used to it, of course. Yep, it was green. And boring. But it was a little bit better than nothing. It was also a button. A green button. Suddenly a flood of memories flew into his mind. He wasn't Mr. Smith; he was Mr. Kirr. That computer...wait, the invasion. The invasion! Suspended animation. Amnesia. The question wasn't _where_ was he, it was _when_ was he? How was he going to get out? Why... Code. Memory. He suddenly knew exactly what was going on. "Sally! The code is five-seven-oh-six-eight-four-six-oh-eight! _PUT IN THAT CODE!_ And don't tell me _anything_ next time, dammit! Do you have that? Five-seven-oh-six-eight-four-six-oh-eight! Five-sev..." The last memory came. It was then that he realized why he had this amnesia, and he realized that he must once again have it. His subconscious fought a short, decisive war with his consciousness. As his eyes closed, the green light seemed to blink out. The darkness was again all encompassing.